Not Without Consequences: Death Penalty For All Three Convicted In Kopardi Rape And Murder Case

A sessions court in Ahmednagar has awarded death sentences to the three men convicted for the brutal rape and killing of a 15-year-old Maratha girl in Maharashtra’s Kopardi village in July 2016. In shocking revelations about the case, the police investigation had concluded that the accused had inflicted injuries all over the victim’s body and broke her limbs before throttling her.

After being convicted on 18 November over charges of rape, murder and criminal conspiracy, the three men - Jitendra Shinde, Santosh Bhawal and Nitin Bhailume - were yesterday given capital punishment in the case which had triggered widespread protests from the Maratha community.

The verdict was welcomed by the victim’s family and all major political parties in Maharashtra including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena that had demanded the death penalty for the accused.

“Kopardi was an extremely unfortunate incident which resulted in massive reactions across the state,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

Lauding special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and the police officials involved in the case, he said that exceptionally good work was done and the trial was completed in a record time. He claimed the lawyers of the accused tried everything possible to prolong the case, but it proved futile.

Nikam was asked to handle the case by Fadnavis on the victim’s family’s request and had argued in court that though there was no direct evidence against Bhailume and Bhaval, their “wholehearted and methodical” participation in the conspiracy hatched by Shinde was akin to committing the crime themselves.

The case had been in the spotlight and had become a flashpoint in the social tensions that exist between the communities in the area. Nearly 1,000 policemen were deployed across Ahmednagar for the verdict and entry to the courtroom was restricted.

The Congress tried to derive political mileage from the case. Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan welcomed the decision of the fast track court and claimed that the case could be fast-tracked as the previous Congress-NCP government had made suitable changes in the law.

While the option to appeal to higher courts remains with the convicts, the speed with which the case was heard and the judgement was delivered has set an example.